Juniors.

Here’s a great preview (previously released on our FB page due to technical issues) of Junior Indoor Nationals this weekend by Aidan Kelly about the first Irish team to play at the tournament

Ultimate has been rapidly growing on our emerald isle for a number of years now, and while university level still reigns supreme in terms of recruiting new talent to the game, a considerable amount of effort has started to be put into schools programmes across the country. These have, in the past, benefited colleges and universities by giving them a potential intake of players that already have two or three year’s worth of experience before playing at Intervarsity level. The most successful of these school programmes is Gonzaga, located in Ranelagh, Dublin.

Founded 10 years ago, Gonzaga Ultimate was the brainchild of Alan ‘Dman’ Doyle, a seasoned veteran in the Irish Ultimate community, who has since gone on to coach Ireland Junior teams and is currently in the middle of running the Irish Senior Women’s team that will be heading to London this summer. Alan, who at the time was I.T. Manager of the school, introduced the sport to students in their transition year, and it has remained a mainstay in the school’s sports curriculum ever since – although not without a huge amount of effort.

This weekend, the best junior teams in the country will fight it out to be crowned the U20 Junior Open Indoor champions. With teams attending from Exeter to Malpas the tournament is likely to bring not only surprises but the opportunity for young players to challenge themselves against the best the country has to offer. The defending champions from the last four years, the AirBadgers, are looking to cement their dominance over Junior Ultimate. However with the likes of Flux, Stags, Arctic and Evolution attending, nothing is certain.ray ban reading glasses
As with every year Junior Indoors Nationals will be held at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton. There are currently eight separate clubs entering the tournament, with the larger clubs such as Flux, Ocelots, AirBadgers and Arctic all bringing four strong teams. This is a testament not only to the many players that make up these teams, but also to the coaches and volunteers who organise the logistics associated with bringing so many players.

The Grapevine – let’s be honest is anyone reading these headers anymore?

Many of you will have voted for the Team USA World Games team and they have successfully won Team of Year 2013!! Amazing!The UKU has employed two new people, Benji as the new Events Co-ordinator and a full time book keeper. Read here.